Powered toothbrushes are becoming an increasingly desirable item for both adults and children. A variety of inexpensive semi-disposable and fully disposable powered toothbrushes are now available on the market. In order to interest children in developing good oral hygiene habits, many toothbrushes, including powered toothbrushes, are provided with decoration relevant to childrens' tastes. One of the more elaborate and desired forms of decoration is a sculpted feature applied to a portion of the brush handle. Such sculpted features can represent well-known cartoon characters or any other relevant three-dimensional subject matter including desirable toys.
The internal mechanism and case construction of powered toothbrushes varies widely. In general, all toothbrushes include a handle that contains the battery and a driving motor as well as a switch. Extending from the handle is a thinner, elongated shaft, that at its end includes one or more moving heads. Power is transmitted from the handle to the heads via various drive shaft arrangements. The cases of powered toothbrushes are formed from one or more pieces (shell halves) that are often joined together using adhesives, ultrasonic welding or other joining techniques. To incorporate a piece that represents a decorative feature (e.g., a cartoon character, toy etc.) it may be necessary to employ advanced construction and molding techniques. However, these techniques must not drive the cost of construction of the relatively inexpensive toothbrush too high or it will be uncompetitive in the mass market.